Skip to main content

What DO You Eat?

I get this question a lot. Far more than I ever expected to get it. Have you ever heard that joke, "How do you know if there's a vegan at a party? Don't worry, they'll tell you." I think it's hilarious and cracks me up every time I'm at a party or any event because inevitably what I eat, or more so, what I don't eat comes up in conversation. It's usually from the host/hostess asking if I have dietary restrictions or discussing the menu and they say something like, "Oh, do you eat red meat?" (People often get the impression I'm some kind of health nut and ask me questions like this a lot. Weird, I know.) and then I say something like, "No..." and they say "Oh well we'll have chicken too." And I smile politely but my lack of enthusiasm elicits panic and more questioning, "Do you eat chicken?" or "You don't eat chicken either?" I then am forced to respond with another "No" and since I've been a vegetarian long enough to know how this conversation continues, I follow up with "I don't eat meat. But don't worry about making anything special." At this point I learn a lot about people. I'm happy to say that people are generally kind and want to know what they can do to aid in my appearance of normalcy as I avoid certain dishes at their party. They offer other foods, some have even offered their kitchens where I can make my own. But then there are those with the facial expressions, annoyed sighs, snide comments and my favorite question, "So what DO you eat?" Well my friends, I'm going to give you just a peek at what we non-meat eaters eat.

Keep in mind that I'm a vegetarian, not a vegan. I'm also working to eat better and healthier to maximize my heath and performance in races. Oh yeah, and because of vanity. That said, it's really easy to still eat crap without eating meat. I try my best not to do that. Let me also say that I don't eat eggs and I don't eat any meat. So let's not have this conversation:

Me: I don't eat meat.
Concerned Citizen: You don't eat meat at all?
Me: No.
CC: Do you eat beef?
Me: No.
CC: Do you eat pork?
Me: No.
CC: Do you eat chicken?
Me: No.
CC: Do you eat fish? (this one is slightly valid since apparently you can be a vegetarian while still eating fish...I am not one of them)
Me: No.
CC: ....I know you don't eat meat, but do you eat meatloaf?

*Sigh* This is the reality of my life. To be honest I actually eat a much wider variety of foods since I cut meat and really enjoy cooking now and eating new foods.

Sushi. Vegetable Roll and Avocado Roll from Sapporo 

Gluten free strawberry shortcakes 

Reese's cups...though not typically but the pound 

Smoothies. Lots of smoothies. 

Pineapple. Typically by the pound 

Ugly yet delicious gluten free apple pie 

LOTS of Mexican food 

Did I mention I really like pineapple? 

Quinoa and roasted veggies 

Chips and salsa 

THIS. 

Kale chips 

Avocado. I would eat these like a hand fruit if socially acceptable 

My fridge. As you can see, it has food in it 

And even more food

As you can see, I eat. A lot. I like to cook. I also like to consume trash at restaurants during certain horse racing weekends. I hope that cleared up some of the mystery surrounding meat free diets and remember this is not all inclusive. Hopefully I've saved both meat eaters and the meat free those circular and uncomfortable conversations all in hopes of answering the question of what we eat.

Comments

  1. Ohh... unfortunately, there is PLENTY to eat being a vegetarian. My weight gain attests to that :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I gained all my weight AFTER becoming a vegetarian. Not sure why that's so hard for people to believe. It's like instead of eating burgers and fries I at bowls of fries on their own. Oh, people.

      Delete
  2. Great post and beautiful blog! Love the background!

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is such a great post! I've been attempting to eat meat free off and on for a while and people always look at me funny (my husband included!).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unfortunately I'm easily offended when it comes to my food choices so I have a hard time ignoring people's negative attitudes. But for the most part if you don't make it a big deal, those that love you won't either :) Good luck!

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why I Hate the Ironman

I figure it's about time to put this out there and I'm pretty sure if you know me really well, you won't be surprised by any of what I have to say. I've been having a lot of issues lately. I've been working hard with my counselor to determine who I really am and what brings me true joy in life and it's been surprising, frustrating, difficult, fun, exhausting, enlightening, exciting and hard....to sum it up in a few words. I spent some time in Puerto Rico back in March and finally got back into doing some writing while I was out there. It wasn't anything long and certainly not anything particularly newsworthy but it made me feel good. I enjoy writing. When I was young I used to write short fiction stories on my mom's computer whenever I had free time and though a lot of them remained unfinished, they were always fun for me and surprisingly effortless to compose. Blogging has never quite been the same as my true writing and I've been working hard t

A Sad Announcement

It is with a very heavy heart that I make an announcement. Because this is where I spend so much time recapping my races and weight loss struggles and successes, it seems that this is where the announcement needs to be made. I told The Colonel earlier this evening when I got home from school close to tears and I need to make it official before I change my mind. I will not be doing an olympic triathlon this year. Sounded much more serious than that, didn't it? Well all joking aside, it is serious to me. In my mind, I'm now a quitter. I'm a wimp. I'm giving up on my goals and soon will start giving up on all of them. This isn't the case of course but for now it's really hard for me to be rational. I am a goal setter and rarely has there ever been a goal I didn't *eventually* reach. So for me to seriously and actually "give up" is heartbreaking. I'm also abandoning my quest to lose 40 more pounds this year. It would be great if it happened, but I

Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 10K Race Recap

Wow, what a title right? Although I also could have titled it the greatest race of my life. Wanna know why? Yeah I thought you might. The week leading up to the race wasn't a great one. Stress at work, general grumpiness etc. etc. etc. So I really wasn't expecting much as far as performance but I wanted to get a 10K in really badly before the marathon relay this Saturday so I thought What the hell and signed up. The atmosphere at Komen events is like none other. Pink everywhere and people....so...many...people. For someone who hates crowds (i.e. ME) there are few things that will lure me to a crowded place. Races just tend to be one of those things. Anyway, there was a great survivors parade and all kinds of booths and music and general funness. What there wasn't plenty of was parking. Which I guess is the norm for an event of this caliber. Survivors' Parade Great Ladies I never got the chance to meet... Seriously packed at the start! Autumn Alexis, The Colonel and I g